Shinigami no Jutsu
by Moonfish
Summary: Sakura’s mother had always told her that each person as a guardian spirit. But death reveals that there was more truth to that belief than anyone alive could ever know. That, and the after life has a very strange sense of humor…Itasaku
1. Chapter 1: For Beginnings There Must Be

-1A/N: Hello! This is my first Naruto fic, and it is an idea that I have been sitting on for quite some time and definitely needed to get out of my system.

Anyway, hope you enjoy

Summary: Sakura's mother had always told her that each person as a guardian spirit. But death reveals that there was more truth to that belief than anyone alive could ever know. That, and the after life has a very strange sense of humor…Itasaku

* * *

Chapter 1: For Beginnings There Must Be Endings

_I'm dying…_

Haruno Sakura never thought her life would end this way. She always had a glorified, yet simple image, that she would die at home, in her bed, in the arms of _someone_ (Her faceless lover, who ever he might have been) and with children at least. She thought that Naruto would be there, and Sai, and in a perfect world, Sauske would have been around too. She would have come home to her boisterous, orange and black clad friend who would demand ramen together while Sai wore those smiles that were just bordering on fake, yet were growing more real. Kakashi might show too, reading those filthy books and run away at the last minute when anyone mentioned paying amidst a bickering between 'her' boys. Sure, an unpredictable end was the way of a shinobi, but she had always been the one on the outside of what that kind of life meant. She suffered wounds like everyone else and she had her close calls but it was always she that returned home. Dying for home and friends was something she should be proud of, yet she could not quite manage to be nice and giddy when she was laying on her back, bleeding out into the freezing snow.

The mission had been an important one, so important that the entire ANBU unit had been sent out to retrieve it in Snow Country. Target? If she was honest with herself, she would admit she really did not know. Tsunade had been vague, but the money offered for what their team leader knew it to be was so high that Konoha would have no fear of debt for years to come. Sakura's vision was growing blurry. With tears or the snow flakes falling into her face, she did not know. She closed them, and recalled the very scene of what brought her here to this spot, bleeding and listening to the thunderous echo of explosions and the screams of dying men…

* * *

"_Haruno Sakura. Come to the Hokage's office immediately." said a deep, male's voice through the animal-face of an ANBU mask. To say that Sakura was startled was an understatement. She was going through her morning routine of dressing, bathing, the works, before she would leave for the hospital._

"_Wh-what?" she sputtered as she pulled on her vest with haste. No matter who it was, when a shinobi adorned that mask and uniform, he or she became completely professional. She should not have been so perturbed that one stood and watched her dress, but she could not help her natural modesty and alarm at finding a man in her room so suddenly._

_Patient as ever, the man waited, then gave a vague nod. "Yes, immediately. Come in uniform." And with that, he vanished from her sight completely. Sakura's heart was pounding in her chest, though she did not know why. This was simply another mission, most likely, and something she had done many times before. Yet…Yet, this felt different today. _

_When she did reach the office, she could immediately see why she might have had a feeling of apprehension cease her. There were so many masks, so many forms both familiar and not, standing together with Tsunade at the front. Her eyes were more tense than Sakura had ever seen on the gambling alcoholic. She twisted her fingers in towards her palms and waited, tense in the stillness of the room._

"_I have a mission for all of you." Tsunade started out by saying. "This may be different, but your skills will be required for this and no less." A retrieval mission, she said, for something 'important'. No one muttered or shifted about to ask what this might be, but if Sakura had telepathy she might have heard the questions ringing out in everyone's mind. Was this so dangerous that a whole ANBU team needed to go at once? And what about Konoha? This could not be wise, yet Tsunade proved time and again that her decisions were good, and well thought out. Their leader, the man in the kitsune mask, was the only one to have the exact information to prevent potential leaking should any of them fall into enemy hands._

_Six hundred million ryo…_

_Sakura never thought she would see a mission with such a high price, and could not help but wonder what this item or person was. Or better yet…Who was the buyer? Tsunade clearly was not going to disclose that information. They disbanded, as did she, all with the specific warning not to give a single clue as to what was happening. No letters to friends, no good byes. Business as usual. _

_The trip to Snow Country was not eventful. No one ran into trouble, and surprisingly for such a high class mission, everything was running smoothly. Sakura was not the only one that felt uneasy. _

_No, it was not until they reached the snowy wilderness that all went downhill. The chaos began with an explosion that sent more than half of the team into the air. They had gotten too comfortable with the idea that the mission was going to go smoothly as it had been since they left Fire Country. This single misstep left many of them in pieces. That was when the cloaks of black, with the white outlined red clouds came into view. _

_Akatsuki._

_They stood no chance at such a surprise attack, and what was more disturbing was that it seemed every Akatsuki member was present. From the information Leaf shinobi managed to extract, they never gathered all at once like this. Sakura, as she tried to fend off a shower of kunai, tried to think of what could possibly bring them all here at once. What was worse was that they had been prepared for the ANBU's arrival. Only then did she consider that this might have been a trap from the start, and a well planned out one at that. _

_She found herself face to face with a familiar, grinning blue face that belonged to none other than Kisame…_

But Kisame was not the one that landed her where she was now. Another bomb dropped from the air sent her in the air with others. Somehow she was able to survive the blast with her limbs intact, but she was bleeding profusely from the wounds inflicted from stray (or maybe not so 'stray') kunai that managed to lodge into her ribs, arms, and she was sure one was stuck in her femoral artery. Kisame could be blamed for her nearly obsolete chakra to heal any of it.

'_Don't give up now! We can't die like this!' _a voice demanded, somewhere within her. In her frozen, listless state, she wondered if her Guardian Spirit was talking to her, if that was what 'Inner Sakura' had been all along. Her mother always did tell her, as a child, that everyone had a guardian spirit. A special spirit that would watch over and protect a person until the day they finally died, and then lead them into the after life. Supposedly, this was a belief that many of the Haruno clan liked to think of. The thought certainly was comforting, to think that there may be someone waiting with open and loving arms, to make right all that had gone wrong, or at least to say: _'It will all be okay now.'_

'_I will not cry…'_she thought, but tears were stinging her eyes now that silence was all that she could hear. They were all gone. She could not feel the familiar chakras any more. This mission had killed them all and no one in Konoha knew. No one would know why, or how they died. **She **did not even know what she was dying for now, and more than ever, she wished she could have worked up the nerve to ask Tsunade what they had even come out to Snow Country for.

"This one is still alive, un!"

Sakura's eyes were still closed, but she could hear the crunching of snow as someone stepped in beside her, and then another, and another.

"Damned stubborn, that one."

She felt something jab into her side.

"Tobi! Don't poke her with a stick, damnit!"

A twinge of annoyance rushed through her. Could they at least let her die with dignity?

"Hey! I'm dying here!" she hissed out, then opened her eyes to glare. Her vision was blurry, but she could see at least five forms standing around her. Her biting remark was met with chuckles and a 'Tobi's sorry.' She wanted to jump up, then, and knock them all into next week for killing everyone and for laughing at her as she slowly died. Luckily, the freezing snow numbed her body to the point that she could no longer feel her wounds.

"What are all of you standing here for?" came a softer, quieter voice. Quiet as it was, each of the men seemed to grow still. Kisame was the only one to answer.

"One of them lived. What do we do with it?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. It? She would show him 'it'. With a strength she was not supposed to even have in this condition, she pushed herself up onto her elbows and leveled a heated glare through the eye-holes of her mask in the direction she felt the shark-man to be in.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi was not impressed often. He had succeeded and witnessed far greater things than a girl struggling from death in order to sock someone in the face. Her aim was off, far off, for she landed the punch in Deidara's face and not in Kisame's who had instigated her ire in the first place.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" screamed Deidara when he landed unceremoniously on his ass in the snow. Kisame guffawed, but soon was in no better shape when the wounded girl managed to get him under the chin. Despite the attack, the blue man could not find it in himself to be angry at such an amusing sight. The girl's hits were weaker, but she was doing all she could to make a lasting impression for sure. None of the Akatsuki standing in a circle around her would forget the girl that had crawled right out of death to start swinging at feared, high class criminals.

The time for amusements was over, though, when Deidara rebounded and shoved the girl back so that she landed back into the blood red snow. Itachi waited, but she did not move this time. His eyes narrowed when he noticed that she was still breathing, however. He could not understand why she would continue to cling on to the thin threads of life. To do so was obviously futile. They were going to kill her, and he did not see why they were even standing around like this right now and watching. Perhaps the sheer amazement was what stilled their weapons from ending her immediately.

"What is your name?" Itachi asked, much to the surprise of the others. He did not care about them, though, and kept his dark eyes on the girl. When she did nothing, he began to believe that she really was dead.

* * *

Feeling was something of a distant memory, but her life was not. Sakura laid still after she gave her final fight and mulled over everything. She could say that she accomplished a lot in her life, enough to be proud of and have others proud of her. She was a good person by most standards, had loving friends and family…

'_Oh Naruto…I'm so sorry…'_

She would be another friend gone to him. He would have others, she was sure. Naruto was strong and he could move on no matter what.

"I asked your name, kunoichi." That voice again, drew her out of her daze. Sakura turned her face towards it. They were Akatsuki. Her murders. Still, she reached out and grabbed the ankle of the one closest to her and the sharp intake of breath from near by did not go unnoticed. Who did she grab? She figured that did not matter any more.

"Haruno Sakura…Please send me home…" she murmured, very well expecting instant refusal.

Instead of sharp remarks or refusal, she was surprised to find the weight lifted off of her face and her vision a little clearer. A pair of red eyes bore down into hers. She knew these eyes, and so she smiled softly.

_Sauske…?_

He had come to take her home? Was he finally going to go home to Konoha?

"It will be done." that low voice said to her with a gentle tone she had not heard in it before.

With those final words, Sakura felt her body relax. She would go home, dead or alive, she would go home. Tears finally leaked from the corners of her eyes, but the light smile remained.

Everything went dark, and sweetly peaceful.

Then Sakura was no more.

* * *

With the cat mask still in hand, Itachi stood up and kept his eyes on the lifeless form of a girl he had only just learned the name to. He recognized her name as the girl who had been friend to his younger brother, and of course the girl that was pupil to the famous Sannin and Hokage. It seemed a terrible waste but there was no use dwelling on what not even the Akatsuki's to lose. She was clearly an enemy.

"Are you really going to send her home?" Tobi asked, his voice curious. Itachi looked back at him and saw the rest were staring, except for Zetsu who eyed the dead girl with a hungry look to his eyes. He was annoyed that this question would even be asked. He, Uchiha Itachi, kept his word. If he said the girl was to be sent home, she damned well better be sent home.

"Deidara, bring the girl to Fire and leave her at Konoha's gates."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did an outraged sound leave Deidara's mouth. He glared incredulously and Itachi could already predict what was going to come out of the blonde's mouth.

"Me?! Why me, un? _You _made the promise, un!" he shouted out. Itachi parted his lips to respond, but Tobi sauntered up to his partner.

"But you can fly, right senpai?" he asked, sounding as if he were being helpful. Deidara snapped his mouth shut, glared at the orange-mask clad man, then promptly walloped him over the head. Tobi whined out and rubbed his head, but Deidara was already forming his bird, muttering. When all was done and the lifeless girl was placed carefully between Tobi and Deidara, they set off into the sky towards Fire Country.

Itachi turned away when the bird was out of sight and to the remainder of their group that had gathered. The massacre of ANBU aside, they _were _here for a reason. Wiping the ANBU out merely had been an obstacle to overcome.

Now they could search for the Shinigami Scroll without interference.

**_TBC_**...


	2. Chapter 2: Fireside Reflection

**Chapter Two: Fire-side Reflection**

Coming so close to Konoha made Deidara, for lack of better words, 'antsy'. Dropping this girl's body off was not going to be as easy as one might have thought, not to mention he would not be allowed to set the hidden village into eruptions. Though…He looked down at the body hanging limply in his arms. He always _could _leave a little bird beneath her, and when one of her people retrieved the body…

Tobi, however, was already following Deidara's line of thought and tapped on his shoulder.

"We should be careful and quiet, senpai. Itachi-san will be mad if-"

Deidara glowered at the masked nin. Of course he knew what Itachi would do if he found out he blew up the body and anyone that tried to touch it. The Uchiha was fully capable of making him suffer a year's worth of agony in the time it took to blink. He was fanatical about his 'art' but he was not at all eager to provoke Itachi into using those damnable eyes against him. Reliving past trauma simply was not worth it.

"I know, un! You don't have to tell me!" he bit out, then turned away in a huff so that he could focus on the mass of trees below them. His scope told him there were already Leaf nin on patrol. The time they would have between delivery and escape would be pretty slim, but if they were careful they would be able to manage it without too much trouble. A smirk found its way onto Deidara's lips while his visible eye gleamed with a fresh idea. A diversion would be easy to create if he created a flock of birds to fly at least a mile away before exploding. That would grab the attention of the shinobi on patrol and give the two of them a better time space to drop the body without heavy interference. He turned back towards Tobi, who was already staring at him closely through the hole in his mask, and opened his mouth to speak.

"You're going to blow something up?" Tobi chirped. Deidara's opened mouth shut with a 'click' while he glared darkly. Could he never get a word out of his mouth before this knuckle head had to say something? The pink-haired girl's body shifted ever so slightly beneath his tightening hands and arms, a result of his irritation towards a man he wanted so badly to throw off of the bird that was nearly twenty feet into the air, or at the very least, strangle. To make matters worse, the object of his fury pointed towards Sakura.

"Ewww, senpai, you are going to squish her. Blood is starting to ooze out…"

Deidara finally released his tension by shouting something unintelligible, but altogether unkind and most likely foul, so loud that birds flew out of the trees around them. Tobi had his hands on his ears, and the one eye that could be seen through the hole in his mask was wide. Morbidly, Deidara could just imagine his mouth forming a little 'o', assuming the bastard _had _one…_'Oh, he has one, un. I hear it all the damn time!' _Deidara thought while he skewered the other man with eyes. _'I'd like to shut that mouth up…un…' _

"Senpai, look out!"

He finally looked away and in the direction Tobi was so excitedly pointing to see a the very team of patrol shinobi Deidara had hoped to get rid of dashing up into the trees below them. Once again, a burning hot rage built up in the pit of his stomach. He could not take out on the person that started it, not only because this simply was not the time to fight with his partner, but because if he did now he might not stop and actually kill the man. Tobi not only distracted him from doing what he had planned -Which Deidara was beginning to think was on purpose. He noticed Tobi did things like this often, and it made him a little more than suspicious.- but provoked him to scream out and attract the attention of the shinobi that had been out on watch. Cursing the man at his side yet again, Deidara reared the bird higher in order to avoid the attacks aimed directly for them.

"Damn! Can we just drop her or something, un? It's not like she's going to _feel _it!" he snapped. The shinobi below them were already exacting their attacks. First it was a fire jitsu, and then wind before a mixture of senbon and kunai shot out of the leaves. Had Deidara believed in any god or spirit, he was sure they were laughing at him right now. This looked like a nest of hornets had been disturbed, and really, it might as well have been. Deidara continued to maneuver the bird in an attempt to avoid crashing, but all it took were a few well aimed chakra packed kunai and the wing was destroyed. The jolt and sudden overturn of the bird sent Deidara flying off. In the moment, he saw that Tobi was still clinging on. '_Idiot!' _he mentally shouted out, but he was too concerned with keeping himself alive now. They had been high in the air when their mode of transportation was so abruptly destroyed. The impact, he knew, was not going to be pleasant at all, so he steeled himself up for it. _'I am going to kick your ass if I live through this, Uchiha!' _he vowed, then squeezed his eyes shut when he finally felt his body connect with a canopy of leaves and sticks. And through this, mostly out of instinct than anything else, Deidara clutched the body tighter and resisted the urge to scream in both pain and sheer fury at the whole situation.

With each snap and crack of the twigs and branches, Deidara winced even more. Not from pain this time, no, but because he knew each sound would betray his location. It took every bit of Deidara's skill and sheer luck to finally land himself firmly on a thick tree branch without breaking it with the force of his fall. Having the dead weight of another body did not help matters either. As soon as he managed this much solid, secure contact, he administered enough chakra through his feet to stick on. His heart pounded and beads of sweat ran down his forehead to mingle with the bleeding scrapes over his cheeks. He closed his eyes then allowed himself to slump down against the trunk behind him and take a few well needed breaths. He chose this brief moment of time to think.

By some miracle, he had managed to keep hold of the body, which he had taken to glare at when there was no immediate attack from the Leaf shinobi. The bird must have crashed further away, he reasoned, and took Tobi with it. Since shinobi were not on him like Hell hounds, he figured that they must gone straight to the crash site. That would have bought him enough time to drop his burden off and make a run for it. Judging that the space of time he would have to do this would not be very long if not less than before, he kicked off the branch and made a run for the village gates. They were not far, now. _'Just hang on a little longer, Tobi.' _he thought, forgetting his prior annoyance with the masked man. As often as Tobi managed to press every button he had, he was still Deidara's partner and abandoning outright was not something he did unless no other choice was available. In the end, he would choose his own life over Tobi's.

When the Konoha gates finally came into view, he released a breath he did not realize he was holding. Had he really become this anxious? He glanced up towards the sky and saw heavy, dark clouds, pregnant with rain were hanging low. Any second now, those clouds were going to burst and rain down a lake's worth of water down on the country. He narrowed his eyes. Rain meant that he would not be flying to safety, but running instead while trying to dodge shinobi along the way and in a worst case (but most likely with his luck this day) he would be carrying an injured and unconscious Tobi. He grimaced, but once he reached his destination he shoved the thought aside. Deidara looked down at Sakura and really took a look at her for the first time since he was forced to drag her body all the way out to Konoha. She had been a burden, but he was forced to think back on how she died in the first place. He was no bleeding heart, but could acknowledge that…compared to losing a life, delivering a body really was not so bad. He carefully lowered her onto the ground then backed away.

"You sure did cause a lot of trouble…un." he pointed out to the girl who could not even hear him. And, of course, she did not answer. She simply laid at the gates, appearing to be nothing more than sleeping. He knew better, though. She was not going to wake up. Deidara 'tch'ed, and turned away to vanish back into the trees when the first droplets of rain began to sprinkle down. Behind him, he could hear the raised voices at the gates, shouting out in alarm.

* * *

Kisame returned to the fire that he and Itachi built. They remained in Snow, even after the others had left in order to pursue separate missions. Theirs, however, remained the same and was perhaps the most disconcerting. Leader had been aloof as to the finer details, yet claimed the Shinigami Scroll they searched for was essential to the Akatsuki goal. Whatever it was, Kisame was not too interested but he hoped to find the thing soon so that he could get out of this freezing weather. He stabbed Samehada into the snow then dropped down next to it with a huff and held his large hands out over the flames so that heat could seep into them and against his bones. Only the occasional snap of charred wood breaking or a cheery crackle broke the silence. Again, something Kisame hoped to get away from. His silver eyes shifted towards the reason all was so silent, the Uchiha.

Itachi normally was a quiet man. He only spoke when it was necessary to speak, and said only what was efficient to the cause. On rare occasions, if Kisame could catch him at the right time, the younger man would exchange a few words with him on which ever subject the missing Mist nin brought up. Due to the cold, and the inky black sky above them, Kisame decided he would take a chance at conversation to take his mind off of how the blue tone to his skin was beginning to match the temperature of the flesh it covered. Now, he just needed to find _something_ that he could use to strike up a conversation.

_'How about all of this snow? Here in..Snow country...!' _No. That would not work at all. He could already see the look Itachi would give him before promptly ignoring him once again. No, talking about the snow in a country named for the stuff would not do. He thought a little longer, staring into the flames. He could always talk about that scroll, but he was in no mood for mission talk right now. After wiping out an entire ANBU squad, he was ready for a short break. A shifting from his partner brought him out of his contemplative thought. Kisame looked at him once again, and for the first time since he had sat down, he noticed something. Itachi was holding a cat-faced ANBU mask in his hands and staring at it so hard that Kisame was amazed the porcelain piece did not shatter right there. A thin finger traced along the red patterns on the cheeks and over the eye-holes. Even Kisame was finding himself a little entranced before he realized just what was happening.

Uchiha Itachi kept the ANBU mask from that feisty girl they watched die earlier in the day. Kisame's brow furrowed with some confusion, though when he thought about it, he was sure he might have known the answer to this. Every shinobi, no matter who they were, had a kill or death that affected him or her in some way. Even he, a man that found the greatest thrills through bloodshed and sometimes sadistic torture, could think back on a few times that he felt a lasting affect or a reminder of his own mortality. Those were annoying and he would usually indulge in sake until he was able to be about as introspective and deep as a bathtub. The Uchiha next to him was, without a doubt, a cold man and ruthless...But he possessed a soul and heart, no matter how tainted it was. Kisame knew this much about his partner, but spoke regardless.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding towards the mask. Red eyes flickered up to him, unreadable as always. More silenced passed and Kisame began to think that he was going to receive no answer, especially when Itachi looked away and down to the mask in his hands. He shrugged. It was worth a try. Since he was going to receive no conversation at this rate, Kisame dragged his pack over and dug around for something to eat. When he found a bag of dried meats, he made a face. Yet another downside to missions out in the wilderness. Food and drink consisted of whatever could be caught, dried and preserved meals, and water. He would be glad when they got their hands on that 'oh so important' scroll, because Kisame was well and ready for a hot meal, sake and a warm bed to sleep in.

"An ANBU mask. The girl's."

Startled by the low voice that pierced through Kisame's mental grumblings, he quickly turned his face up with a strip of dried meat hanging from his mouth. Itachi still did not look at him, but the fact that he spoke meant that he accepted the initiated conversation. Kisame grinned and held the bag of dried meats out for Itachi to take, which he did, and then leaned back against a felled tree trunk in order to get as comfortable as he was able in these harsh conditions. With his long legs stretched out in front of him and his hands over his belly, considered what to say next.

"Why'd you keep it?" he asked with the curiosity he really felt, despite his suspicions on the entire matter. When he saw Itachi's eyebrows draw closer together, marring the 'perfect' smooth features of his face, Kisame knew that he had been on the mark. That little kunoichi was insignifgant. Just another girl that had been killed to further their goals. One among many. Something, though, struck a chord in the cold Uchiha, and maybe the man did not even know what it was...Not that it mattered. The answer was not always one that was immediate or within reach. For all either of them, or anyone knew for that matter, it could have just been an 'off' day. The shark-man was not the brightest in the shinobi world. He was no mastermind prodigy, but he did have some insight. A very good insight, it would seem. Itachi thought hard on Kisame's simple question. Why did he keep it? The mask felt cold under his fingers and smooth against his palms. The death of that girl had been utterly fascinating.

Itachi had surveyed that battle from far away. At first, he was disgusted. The Leaf ANBU had been too predictable and too unaware...Too comfortable. Not to mention foolish enough to have sent so many of their number out on a single mission. What kind of fool had the Hokage been to do that? They came right out into the open like lambs to the slaughter, and a suspicious voice whispered that might have been exactly what it was. Having been in the Leaf ANBU himself, he knew their ways and tactics better than some of the ANBU themselves. For that, he had been the one to orchestrate the attack in the first place.

They had known in advance that the ANBU had been sent after the Shinigami Scroll by spies that had been carefully planted in Konoha. Leader was very insistent that they be stopped at all costs, and so, the Konoha spies left traces and clues as to where it might have been hidden in order to lure ANBU right to them. From there, Deidara set bombs beneath the snow to kill the first set of ANBU, and then the rest of the Akatsuki that hid in the forest skirting the wide, open snow field would commence an attack on the survivors.

The ANBU stood no chance. Just as he predicted, they haphazardly walked out into the snowy mine field. Bodies flew into the air, scattering their tight group, making it easier for the Akatsuki to swoop in on them like birds of prey. Deidara who, literally, was on that giant bird of his flew over head after the ground bombs exploded to drop more from the sky on the disoriented victims. Unsurprisingly, many ended up buried in avalanches of snow.

Itachi did not have to lift a finger or even use his Sharingan. Needless to say, he was a little disappointed that it had been so easy. His comrades had enjoyed the violent battle though and the job was done. Or so he had thought until he saw the five Akatsuki gathering around a circle, heads bowed and watching. Tobi had a long stick in his head and prodding at the object of their attentions. Only then did Itachi extract himself from the tree branch he had been standing on to see what had stilled them, and had a ghost of a hope that they somehow unearthed the scroll in all the carnage. That would have explained why Tobi was poking at whatever it was rather than using his own hands.

When he arrived, though, he saw that it was no scroll at all but a fallen ANBU instead. One that had survived, though when he looked at her he could see that would not be her condition for long. A kunai was jammed right where her femoral artery should be, which in itself was a fatal wound, not to mention the various wounds that cut deep into her body. It was a wonder that she was alive at all, but adrenaline had made weaker bodies than that of an ANBU perform far more amazing feats than to remain alive longer than what normally would kill a person in minutes. No, the fact that the girl was still alive and on her back was not amazing. What shocked him was what happened after the fact.

Apparently insulted by being referred to as something less than a human being, she lifted herself off of the ground and proceeded to attack S class criminals. Grudgingly, Itachi had some respect for anyone that would do that, and yet scoffed at how easily she succumbed to the weakness of her angry emotions. A smart shinobi would have laid low or even played dead, as it was not impossible to do, until they left and healed herself. Itachi could think of a thousand different opportunities that she could have had to survive. She did not choose survival. She chose...What? Pride? Honor? Her efforts landed her back into the snow, in her own blood.

She was such a foolish, emotional kunoichi. One that certainly suited Konoha.

One that managed a difficult achievement of impressing the infamous Uchiha prodigy enough for him to want to know her name and her face.

There was nothing particularly amazing about the features he found hidden under the mask, though admittedly unusual. They were feminine and delicate, framed by absurdly pink hair and a pair of emerald green eyes that reflected a defiance while being indignant all at the same time despite dancing so close to death's door.

Her name was Haruno Sakura. A name that, in itself, was ironic. Itachi was no artist. He did not indulge in such frivolities like Deidara and Sasori (when alive), but even he could appreciate it. A cherry blossom of spring, dying in a bloody field of snow. Not to mention she was young. Everyone knew that the sakura trees had such a short life span. Really, her name had been a curse and a dark prediction of what her fate would be. Yet another life snuffed out before its prime.

She had hung on longer than natural in order to confirm her body would not be left behind, or defiled, but to be sent home to her family and friends. Itachi suspected that she might have still been alive this very moment had he not given his word to comply. He had not noticed at the time, but the five along with him had been silent while watching the lively green eyes slowly shut and the last breath pass through her mouth...

Maybe that had been it, he mused. Shinobi died quickly in most cases. Their lives were fleeting, their deaths almost always instant. That was the way of things, and yet she drew out her pain and suffering. She made sure she would be remembered and, consequently live on in the minds of reluctant Akatsuki.

They were sure to forget soon, no more than a day in time. Itachi, though, knew that he would not forget. A part of him was angry, to be affected even to this extent by the kunoichi he knew his brother to have possessed ties with. A smaller part, a piece of himself that was subdued with an iron fist, reveled at the moment of distraction from his typical thoughts and objectives.

And that brought him back to the present. Like Kisame, he had a tree at his back and the fire emitting just enough warmth to prevent them from dying of hypothermia. He turned the mask over again to look at it and noticed a dried, frozen smear of blood. Why did he keep this small artifact? A reminder, perhaps...A memento of a single girl that managed to make herself know and recognized among many others that had died the same death around her. One that was pitifully weak, and at the same time, powerful enough to leave lasting impressions in the mind of a man that had seen and done it all.

He noticed that Kisame was boiling snow to make drinkable water, but the other man's posture told him that he was still waiting on an answer. Kisame felt the crimson-eyed stare on him and looked up. He had no expression on his face for a moment before he grinned and bore his sharp teeth.

"Interesting day, huh?" he said while he extracted a couple of tin cups from the traveling bag. "Won't be like that for the rest of the mission. No one else is going to want that scroll after what they see happened to those Leaf ANBU." Kisame gave the mask a significant stare, then filled up the cups with hot water before placing the small pot back into the bag it had come from. Once again, the flames expanded into a larger and more animated size to give off more light. "Good idea to send back a body to let Konoha know to keep their nose out of this one..." He left it at that. He gave Itachi a reason, a motive, behind actions that the Uchiha did not fully understand.

"Aa." Itachi replied in agreement, then leaned forward to gingerly set the mask down into the fire. Kisame chose to drink the hot water slowly, enjoying the temporary warmth it gave him, and watched the porcelain slowly crack under the intense heat. He no longer felt like talking after seeing this somehow. Itachi was no different. Each settled back in to their own thoughts and watched the embers consume the last evidence of the suspiciously easy downfall of Konoha's ANBU.

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A/N: Woo Another chapter finished! Thank you so much for your reviews!

In the up coming chapter, we will finally learn Sakura's status. Until then!

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	3. Chapter 3: Guardian Spirits

A/N: Thank you everyone that has reviewed or alerted on this story. I would like to thank my beta reader Nolable. She's been awesome with reading everything through.

Disclaimer: .. I have forgotten this the past two chapters! Not this time I do not own Naruto.

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**Chapter 3: Guardian Spirit  
**

_Sakura remembered the day she learned the Haruno family belief about the guardian spirits. She had come back after the mission in which Haku and Zabuza had been killed. Before that mission, all students at the academy had been told that they would kill and possibly _**be**_ killed. That was the way of things, and who ever had qualms about it needed to go ahead and leave, to just forget being a shinobi and stick to civilian life. At the time, death was such a distant thing to Sakura. Her mind was on a certain aloof, brooding boy that was the object of many other girls' fantasies. He was going to be a shinobi, and to be closer to him, she would not give up that dream and would also be a shinobi. At least until she caught him, and then she could settle for being a house wife. Things like death and battle were just scary stories she heard about. _

_The true nature of life and death became so real when she saw what transpired between her team mates, sensei and the missing nin that died. She had never witnessed or experienced death so closely and that brush with it had scared her. Would she, one day, have to do what she witnessed? With her hands, would she end another person's life? _

_Would one end hers?_

_Discussing missions was frowned upon, especially if it was with the civilians. Her mother's family was mostly civilian, but it had history of shinobi here and there. Her father, she was told, had been ANBU but died so long ago she did not remember him. With no one else to go to, Sakura chose to ignore that rule. Surely her mother would understand. After returning home and turning in reports, Sakura went to her mother's side._

_The older woman, whose only features Sakura seemed to possess were the green eyes, was in the middle of preparing the home made suppers she was popular for even with other families, and thus the source of their income when her mother ran the little restaurant on the corner. She watched her hands chop away at the vegetables with ease, each slice a perfect image of the next and moving about the kitchen with a grace that Sakura secretly coveted. 'Would Sauske-kun want a girl that could cook as well as Okaa-san?' she wondered to herself. _

_"You are awfully quiet." Momo said without turning around to look at Sakura as she tended to the miso. Sakura pressed her chin down on the back of her hands. _

_"Okaa-san?" she asked, despite the fact her mother already initiated the conversation. The woman replied with a soft 'Hmm?' and grabbed a glass container of some herb Sakura could tell would make the soups smell nice._

_"What happens after we die?"_

_The woman stopped, her shoulders tense. Sakura looked away, believing she had said something wrong, but when the woman turned around again, she was smiling a little._

_"That is a good question." she said. "No one really knows, because it is such a mysterious thing." She held up a finger and smiled. "But the Haruno believe that, when a person is born, he or she is given a guardian spirit to watch over them every moment of the day. We can never see them or hear them, but sometimes they help us when we find ourselves in bad situations. And when we die, they lead you to the place you are meant to go."_

_Sakura bit down on her bottom lip. If that was true, did Haku and Zabuza have someone special to greet them?_

_"What if a person was bad?" she asked a little softer. At this, her mother pursed her lips in thought, then turned around to finish her cooking._

_"Even a person who made bad choices in his life needs someone to hold his hand when he is alone and afraid. The guardians will be with you, no matter what you do."_

_Sakura could hold it in no longer and released a choked sob. Looking back on that day, she was not sure who she was crying for, whether it was herself or for the ones she saw die, or for the ones she feared may soon be gone. _

"_Sakura…?" _

_Warm arms enveloped her into a nurturing hug. Her mother knew. She always knew, and that day, she taught Sakura a valuable lesson that neither knew would come to be the most important one in the future._

* * *

Sakura did not know how long she had been aware. 'Aware' was the only word she could think of to describe what she was now. She was not awake. Never would she be awake again, and yet she could see and hear everything. When the two Akatsuki took her body away onto the blonde man's clay bird, she followed them in a dream-like state, and was amazed that she could follow so easily. She never could do that before. And then, when they fought, she laughed. They could not hear it, but their antics amused her. When Deidara fell from the sky with her in arms, she screamed the fear that he refused to scream out to keep his location secret for the shinobi searching for him. Finally the blonde Akatsuki had laid her at the gates before the rain poured down and disappeared. His insult left her annoyed. Sakura preferred to be annoyed then, because if she was angry at him, then she would not have to face what was soon going to be thrown right at her. Behind her, she could hear two men shouting and the muffled sounds of their feet pounding against moist grounds. She did not look at them. Her eyes were still on the gates and the forest outside of them. A part of her wished this was just a dream…But a wish was simply that. A wish. Reality was far more surreal.

"Is that…?"

"Sakura-chan…."

At the mentioning of her name, Sakura turned around. Almost instantly, she wished she had not. At her feet was herself. The rain plastered her pink hair to her face and mixed with the mud. What blood had been on her skin was washed away. '_No…No….Nonononononono…..!' _She shook her head and started to step away from the horrible sight before her, but stopped when arms wrapped around the body that she had once been a part of, and had she not been so horrified she would have found the situation to be rather convenient. Both of her uncles, the brothers of her father, had been on watch. They were the ones to find her first.

The taller of the two, Daiki, held her up in his arms while Ike closed in from the other side. Each formed a similar grim line out of their mouths. Sakura screamed, "Don't look like that!", only to be completely unheard. Daiki sighed and bowed his head so that the dark red strands of his hair covered his face.

"Momo-san will be devastated." he muttered, but was barely heard over the violent storm. "Sakura-chan was her only child."

Sakura did not know if being sick was possible any more, but she definitely felt like it when he spoke those words. She clenched her hands and glared at the two men. "What do you _mean _'was'?!" she sneered. "I'm still here! Take me to the hospital! Take me to shishou! She will fix me!"

Like before, they did not hear her words. Ike ran a palm down his face slowly in an expression of resignation to something he had not yet voiced. When he looked up again, Sakura was disturbed to see he had come to some resolution. "We need to take Sakura-chan to Tsunade-sama." Sakura smiled and nodded. "Yes! Take me to shishou!" She knew that if anyone could heal her, Tsunade could.

"Tsunade will only have her body disposed of until nothing is left." Daiki replied. He stared down at the lifeless form cradled against his chest. "We will take her to Momo-san first. She has the right to see…Damnit…This is ANBU gear. She was…"

They fell silent, leaving Sakura in a turmoil of emotions. She did not want to believe what they implied, though deep down she knew it was true. The ability to see, hear and still experience these emotions had been giving Sakura hope that she still had a chance…

But what happened after her uncles snuck away into the dark rain, through the village, and to her home had spelled out the truth all too clearly. Many years later, when she thought to revisit the past, she would have seen the defiant act her uncles committed as what changed everything. At the time, however, she only had eyes for her mother.

Momo had been reading, as she often did on rainy days or nights, when Ike and Daiki walked into her sitting room with the body of her daughter dripping puddles of water onto the floor. Her eyes grew wide behind the glasses settled on the tip of her pert nose, and the book she held slowly slipped from her fingers to drop on the floor. The sound echoed loudly in Sakura's mind and ears. Sakura braced herself for the scream, or the cries, but when they did not come she watched Momo even closer than before. Where was the anguish?

It was in her eyes.

"Sakura…No, she's not…Please tell me she is not…" Ike bowed his head in order to avoid her eyes, while Daiki nodded. "I am sorry, Momo-san. We found her laid outside of Konoha's gates."

The woman looked as if she were moving in a trance when she took the lithe body into her arms and then dropped down to kneel on the floor. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek against the top of Sakura's head. All in the house were painfully silent. Not even Sakura could find words to speak or even the will to cry. When Momo finally did cry, her tears were silent but persistent down her cheeks.

Daiki exchanged a glance with Ike after many minutes passed and the grieving woman did not yet speak to them. They had a duty to fulfill, and even standing here to allow her time with the body was against the rules. After the loss of their brother and her husband with no closure, though, they could not do that to her again. Ike leaned over and placed a hand on Momo's shoulder, rousing her from her silent mourning.

"Momo-san, we have to take her now, to Tsunade-sama." he said gently. To Sakura's surprise and to the surprise of her uncles, Momo glared and slapped his hand away. Taken aback but the suddenly violent act, Ike retreated slowly until he was next to Daiki once again. Where there had been sadness and sympathy, there was now nervous tension. Sakura could understand why.

Her mother had always been a kind woman, and gentle. Rarely did she raise her voice out of anger or frustration, nor did she have an unkind thing to say to others. What she felt and thought about anything, she often kept to herself like any other well bred lady. These teachings were constant sources of arguments between she and Sakura, who had a violent tendency and could speak rudely. But now, she stood up and glared with such a fury that two seasoned shinobi began to feel nervous near the plain civilian woman. For the first time, Sakura was seeing where her temper truly came from.

"You will not!" the woman hissed through her teeth, her voice shaking. "She has done her duty! No more…I lost him to this and I had nothing to say good bye to but a _name carved into a memorial!_" Momo was not advancing towards them, but she stabbed her finger in its direction. The winces on both men's faces lead one to believe that she might have even stabbed them with those words and motion. "Not Sakura. She will not be another name on that rock, and she will not be torn apart!"

Daiki shifted uncomfortably, not liking where this was leading. Many shinobi believed that to have their name carved on that stone would be an honor. Momo clearly thought otherwise. "What can we do, Momo-san? You know the conse--"

"_I do not care about the consequence!"_ She pointed at them while she supported Sakura in the other arm. "Neither of you will speak a word of this. I may not be a kunoichi, but I know my fair share of them. Leave. Now."

Ike and Daiki were in shock. Not only did she outright refuse to return the body, but she was threatening their lives as well. Neither spoke a word, nor did they agree. Instead, they simply vanished into swirls of smoke that had covered their forms. Sakura was left staring at the woman that was her mother. Momo was wasting no time after her brother-in-laws vanished. She knew the chances of them returning with reinforcements was high. So as quickly as her untrained body could, she carried her daughter's lifeless form out to the wagon she used to cart fresh foods or ingredients to the restaurant then escaped deeper into the village.

"Okaa-san! Please listen to me! I'm still here, please don't get yourself into trouble!" Sakura pleaded as she chased Momo through the allies and out to a tree grove. With a fury completely alien to Sakura, Momo dug deep into the ground. Sakura became morbidly entranced with each stroke and how the rain filled the hole. When her body was finally lowered in and covered with the mud, Sakura knew that what she had been trying to deny was final.

She was dead.

Her mother just buried her into the ground and defied Konoha shinobi., and as of now, only they knew that she was even dead. But worst of all, her childhood belief was proved to be false. Where was her special guardian? There was not a single soul there to tell her what happened or to tell her that she was not stuck in some nightmare or in one of the workings of a Sharingan. She was completely, and utterly alone.

"Am I a ghost?" she asked herself, because no one could hear her talking anyway. What would be the point of just thinking when she could at least comfort herself with her own voice? She lowered herself down onto her knees and sobbed, even after Momo had finally left the unmarked grave. If this constant existence without means of communication was what the after life had to offer, she wanted no part of it. Sakura wanted out.

The storm raged on, and Sakura remained motionless in her misery. That was, until, the strangest of feelings over came her. Where Sakura had been sure that no one could see or even recognize she was there, she had the distinct notion that eyes were on her. Hopeful, Sakura wiped at her eyes and looked over her shoulder. Only then did she realize that heavy clouds of white smoke were rolling along the ground and through the air.

"Hu hu hu…." came a low toned laugh. Low as it was, the sound still managed to fill the air around her. If Sakura's heart were still in her, she knew it would have been pounding right about then. She stood up and took a step back, but could see nothing in all of the smoke.

"W-who's there?" she called out. No answer came, but she had not been trained as high a rank as ANBU for nothing. Just because there was no sound did not mean nothing was there. Straining for any sense she still might have in this state of 'awareness', she attempted. A twig cracked to break the momentary silence, and that was enough to send her running. But, no matter where she ran, the white smoke followed until there was nothing but the smoke.

"Hu hu hu…" came the laughter once again. Frustrated and tired of running, Sakura clenched her hands into fists. "Show yourself!" she shouted, and show himself, he did. The first thing Sakura saw was a shaggy animal head that looked to be some cross between a wolf or a fox. It moved slowly towards her through the smoke. Her eyes grew wider than she thought possible as her throat released a frightened scream. She stumbled backwards in order to escape this monster, but the smoke seemed to form a wall behind her to trap her in.

She soon saw, though, that there was more to the animal head than she originally saw. What she had thought was a monster turned out to be a man. He stopped nearly three feet away, giving her an eyeful of 'strange'. His mouth, which was the only part of his face that could be seen due to the animal head he wore to hide his eyes and top half of his head, was unnaturally wide, baring a grin through the kiseru that released puff after puff of the white smoke surrounding them. A pale haori was open to reveal no gi beneath and hakama tied at the ankles. Forgetting her fear, her eyes traveled from the giant scroll on his back to the sake gourd at his hip. This man, if that was what he really was, looked like something right out of the horror legends where an oni would steal beautiful maidens and eat them.

The man appeared to be amused by her intense scrutiny in the face of a bizarre moment. He bent forward to lower his face in her level then blew a heavy cloud of smoke right into her face. This quickly snapped her out of her horror. Sakura glared then pointed at his face.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" she demanded. If he thought he was going to bully her, dead or not, she would be sure to give him a taste of just how hard she could punch. He chuckled lowly, that laugh she decided was more annoying than frightening.

"Haruno Sakura…" he said in a lazy drawl. She kept her glare steady and watched the smoke that seeped from his mouth with each word. "Age, nineteen…Hmm…Manner of death, very _ironic…_"

Sakura did not like that he knew these things about her, nor that he knew of her death. How could he….Then her eyes lit up. He must be the guardian that her mother had told her about. Sure, he looked strange, but this was a good thing! A bright smile came to her face, but faltered. The smoking man was no longer smiling. His long mouth was pressed into a contemplative line.

Shyly, she brought her hands up to her chest and swayed on her feet. "Are you my guardian spirit?" she asked, but the tone of her voice suggested she already believed him to be so. A long silence passed after her question, and then suddenly, the man started to laugh.

His laughs were loud and shook the ground they stood on. Though he sounded happy and amused, Sakura felt very stupid. She frowned, nearly pouted, and stared reproachfully at him. "Well? Are you?" she insisted. Abruptly, the man's laughter stopped. His sudden mood changes were beginning to make Sakura's head spin, and just when she was going to say as much, a long finger was pointed in her face.

"You, Haruno Sakura, _have _no guardian spirit." he declared boldly. Her lips parted in shock, then twisted into a pitiful grimace. By her expression, she looked as if she might cry again. And really, she wished she could.

"But why?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong?" The fear that she might have disgraced herself washed over her with all the other tiny doubts crashing in. As strong as she had become through Tsunade's teachings, and as tough as she acted, she still was a sensitive person on the inside. Apparently, she realized soon, this man did not care about sensitive girls' feelings at all. She watched him stuff a hand into a cloth sack that hung near the sake gourd and shift around until he extracted a smaller scroll. When she began to believe he was not going to answer her, he held the scroll out for her to take.

"Listen up, and listen closely because I won't be telling you again." he started off, his arms crossing back against his chest. "The higher ups screwed up pretty big a while back and made a few extra souls, so there were no guardians to assign. This time, it was two people that got jipped." He brought a hand up to rub at his chin, the kiseru bobbing with each stroke. "But luckily, one of you died so that's all fixed. Anyway, here you go. Open up that scroll and get to work." Sakura held the scroll numbly and gawked with confusion. He was already walking away, but she reached out to grab the back of his haori. The man came to an abrupt stop. Slowly, the animal-head eyes pointed down towards her, and gave the eerie impression that those were the eyes he was looking at her with instead of what was hidden under the mask. "_Yes?"_ he drawled.

She bit down on her lip out of nerves, but kept a hold on his haori. "I don't know how to be a…a guardian." she said. At this, he grinned widely.

"You'll figure it out." Her grip grew loose, and the man she did not know the name to vanished into the smoke he had come in.

The scroll felt warm in her hand. She realized that she could actually feel that man and this scroll when she was not able to feel other things like the ground beneath her feet. Sakura sighed. This was like being a genin all over again.

'_If I think about it that way, maybe this won't be so bad. This is just a mission.' _

With the resolve to accept the situation she had been fated to, Sakura broke the wax seal that held the scroll close then slowly unrolled it to see who had been sharing the fate of no guardian…Sakura froze and dropped the scroll from her hands before she backed away from it like one would from a snake.

As Sakura silently cursed the fates and every other being she could think of, the ink of the scroll glowed faintly.

"_Uchiha Itachi"_

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Review?


	4. Chapter 4: Acceptance

**A/N: **Argh! I toiled over this chapter until I wanted to scream! Nolable helped me a lot though, and now finally, here it is!

Thank you so much for the reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. _I __do _own Kumo.

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**Chapter Four: Acceptance**

"_You, Haruno Sakura, have no guardian spirit." _

"_The higher ups screwed up pretty big a while back and made a few extra souls, so there were no guardians to assign. This time, it was two people that got jipped...But luckily, one of you died so that's all fixed..." _

_**No...That was too convenient, wasn't it?**_

A strange man had come to her and claimed that some great, celestial mistake had occurred leaving herself and a few other people in the world without a spiritual guardian. The mishap was corrected, however, when one of them died. In this case, it was she who had died and now she was appointed to look after Uchiha Itachi of all people. The man that was responsible for destroying his entire clan, except his brother? The man that emotionally destroyed Sauske and sent him into the arms _-'Ew, no, don't think that!' _Inner Sakura wailed. - of Orochimaru to better claim revenge? Oh no, not her. She would never, _could _never betray her village and team mates, not even in death. And, if what that strange man had said was true, then Itachi was without a guardian of any sort in the spiritual plane. Sakura could safely say she did not give a damn and hoped he died a lonely, painful death. He handed her the scroll anyway, the very one was currently unfurled on the ground in front of her, and said 'Get to work,'.

Nearly a week had passed since then and the crushing news of what had become of her eternity. Her eyes narrowed at the offensive object that had spelled out her sentencing; a scroll with 'his' name on it. And, no matter what Sakura did to that scroll, nothing would work. She had tried tearing it, stomping on it, biting it and even throwing it into a fire when she came across a team of shinobi camping out for the night. Each time she attempted to maim the accursed thing, it would always return in perfect condition.

"How can this be?" Sakura said out loud. She had slowly formed a habit of speaking in this way once she realized no one could hear her. "There has to be some sort of mistake." With each passing day, she believed that more and more. If she really was meant to be a guardian to Itachi, would she not already be there with him no matter what? The leaves rustled above her with the soft breeze whispering in. She looked up at the intricate network of branches weaving in with each other to block out most of the sun so that small patterns of lights sprawled over the forest floor and on the dark fabric covering her legs.

As she stared at her legs, she wondered how she looked now. No blood or dirt had covered her skin and clothes, and there were no tears or cuts in the ANBU uniform she still wore. She had no reflection, despite how hard she had stared into the still water of a pond she came across at some point in her wandering.

Where her face and shadow should have been, all she could see was the open blue sky. Was there something special about what a spirit wore or how it look? She wondered about it as she wondered about many different things involving the subject. She had no need to eat, nor could she touch what was not herself or the scroll. However, unlike the popular belief of flying, her spiritual form was rather grounded. Obviously there were rules to the spirit world, but Sakura was a fish out of water. She knew nothing at all about this manner of existing.

Her inner musings came to an immediate stop when hazy, thick clouds of white smoke rolled along the ground and over her legs. Sakura was startled by the sensation rolling across her, as if she were a living thing that could feel the air blowing against her or in this case, smoke. She even could smell it, though she would never be able to identify it. A sudden feeling of dread ceased her, leaving Sakura paranoid and stiff. The last time she saw smoke like this..._He _had come for her.

Sakura wasted no time and jumped up from where she was sitting to dash off into the trees. Even without chakra, Sakura was able to jump from branch to branch as she had when she was alive. Her speed did not disturb the branches or trees, and for once she was grateful that she could just go right through solid objects. But no matter how fast she ran or how far, the smoke followed her. It raised from the ground in thick bundles, casting a fog over everything and then her vision. Cursing, Sakura stopped and jumped back down to the ground, abandoning her plans to run in favor of hiding.

After hunkering down in a bush like some scared little kid, Sakura had to wonder why she was running in the first place. She had not done anything wrong-_'Except for rejecting Itachi'_ her inner self added- and that man did not seem too violent...Right? Sakura shivered in both fear and anticipation. In all honesty, she knew absolutely nothing except for what had been told to her and even that had been suspicious. She simply could not accept that such a blunder could have been made and to _her_!

...But...If not her, then who else would have suffered this fate? Naruto, or even Sasuke could have been in her shoes. The thought was sobering. Compared to those two, she really was not going to be suffering so much. Sure, she hated Itachi for what he did to Sasuke and for his constant hunting of Naruto, but what had he ever directly done to her?

_Nothing._

_Absolutely nothing._

"You're like a little kid playing hide and seek...Weren't you a ninja or kuno-something??" she heard a low voice say right into her ear. Sakura screamed and crashed forward through the bush and out into the dirt path. Just as soon as she had fallen, Sakura was back on her feet and in a defensive stance with her hands up and her legs spread apart. From the bush, a tall figure loomed and a small pinprick of light told her that the kiseru-smoking man had found her. Not trusting him in the slightest, she narrowed her eyes and set her jaw into a clench. As they stared each other down, the surreal event of four shinobi walking between them through the smoke occurred. They did not seem to even notice the smoke around them, and maybe they could not see it. Refusing to be distracted, she bent her knees a little so that she would be able to make a move in any way should she need to.

"I _am_ a kunoichi! There is no '_were_' about it! " she said as both a warning and a dash of pride. The threat was not lost on him, but he only chuckled in response before stepping away from the bush. Sakura's eyes followed his every movement, but he did not give a single sign of threat. His steps were slow and his posture was incredibly lazy.

The only thing remotely frightening about him, she realized, was that cat-wolf hybrid head he wore over his own head so that she only had a clear view of everything from the nose down. His mouth stretched out into a wide grin at her scrutiny. Apparently, he could see very well through that 'mask'.

"Nope...Not any more you aren't." he pointed out.

Despite her revelation, she still did not like the idea. Her lips twisted into a grimace while her eyes gleamed challengingly. "I went a whole week without it and nothing happened! I don't think I am the guardian you say I am. In fact, I bet I have one and you just _ate _it or something!" came her accusation.

Again, he leered maddeningly. Oh how she wanted to knock that stupid smile right off of his face_! 'Why don't I?' _her inner self goaded_. 'Knock him right in the kisser! That'll teach him not to mess with me!' _Sakura smirked, and then launched herself right off of the ground with a firm kick then twisted in the air so that she could send her shin right at the side of his head.

She met nothing but air, and fell back to her feet soon after. Quickly, she spun around and saw that he was the same distance away from her, but in the space she had been occupying before her attack. His smile was still in place with an even more taunting quirk in the left corner of his mouth. Once again, she was reminded that he was no human at all. He was something, a monster even, and she was in his domain.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice taking on a more cautious tone. The smoke continued to roll around them, and in the long pause, Sakura saw that it all came from the kiseru. She frowned. How was that even possible?

"Kemuri Kumo." he finally said. She arched a brow, finding the name to be suiting and wondered if that was even his name at all. Never the less, it was a name. She reluctantly lowered her fists and stood straight. Without giving her time to speak again, Kumo pointed at her with the mouth piece of the kiseru.

"You have been shirking your duties. Not a good idea at all."

Sakura resumed her stiff posture. So he was on about this again? Why couldn't he leave her alone? Still, she had to know what he meant by that and much to her annoyance, she felt that he might have expected that curiosity. "Why?" she asked, finally giving in. He leaned back casually and tucked his hands into his haori sleeves.

"What do you think happens to souls that wander around like you have been?" he asked. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He _just _could not come out and say it. He had to ask her a question for her question.

"I don't know."

His smile faded and settled into a grim line. Sakura was not sure which was worse. The smile, or this new expression. She stared at him, unaware of the fear in her eyes, and waited. "You will become a lost soul." he said grimly. "And eventually fade away…Let's just say you're better off with this Uchiha guy."

A chill ran down her spine. He did not go into any great details but she could sense that he was leaving something out, and that alone left her with the sensation of lead filling her stomach. She did not want that to happen. Dead as she was, she still was herself to some extent and Sakura did not want to lose that. She had her memories, and her personality. To fade away, whatever that meant, would be the real and final end of all ending.

"I don't want to die." she said weakly. Kumo's grim expression melted away into another annoying grin. He advanced on her with his hand out.

"Hmm…Too late for that." He smirked and took her hand and dropped the scroll back into her palm. Sakura looked down at it, then closed her eyes and sighed with resignation.

"How does this even work?" she asked dully. The next thing she knew, a large hand was hold her chin and forcing her to look up into the cat-fox mask. "Hey! What are you--" His grip tightened, shocking her into silence. It_ hurt! _He could actually _hurt _her! Out of instinct, she reached up and grabbed his wrist with both of her hands.

"Do you finally accept what you have become?" he asked with no trace of humor. Sakura did not respond. Did she accept? If she did not, there was a chance of being 'Lost'. She would lose so much more than she had already lost. If she accepted, she would be with Itachi until the day he died. Really, what was worse? She swallowed thickly, then nodded.

"I accept."

No sooner had the words left her mouth did Kumo suddenly pull her mouth open. Sakura's eyes widened, but she could not stop him. Instead, she was left with no choice but to watch him take the scroll between his fingers and shove it into her mouth! With a scream, she panicked and thrashed to try and escape him, but his grip was too tight. The scroll settled onto her tongue, then dipped into her throat with the pressure of his finger until it dropped down into her stomach. Only then, did he let go.

Sakura stumbled back and held her hands over her mouth. Her eyes screamed '_What did you do to me?!' _. He offered no explanation, and simply tilted his head back so that his face was directed towards the sky. Sakura just knew that she would regret following his line of vision, and that she did. Her terror only increased upon what she saw. Thin strings of light were weaving their way down from the sky and through the branches. Each strand carried an unbearable warmth and were blinding in their brightness This time, Sakura did scream. Despite the light, her vision was fading to black and the world around her convulsed while each string wrapped itself around her wrists and body.

"H-help!" she called out to Kumo and tried to reach out for him, but the light strings held her still. Just as he had not explained, he also did not move.

It was not until the ground started to become farther away that sand farther he realized she was being pulled into the sky. She could still see Kumo, but he was nothing more than a small thing beneath a blanket of leaves and branches until he was out of her sight completely. The last she saw before she was suddenly flying at a maddening speed was Kumo's wide grin as he waved.

Sakura cursed his name and is very existence, the squeezed her eyes shut to avoid watching they sky and clouds rush past her eyes.

Could dead people get motion sickness? She certainly hoped not.

* * *

If Itachi thought the open air of Snow Country was as cold as it could get, he was reminded that the caves of Snow Country put its namesake to shame. The temperatures were always so cold that a thermometer was incapable of even measuring it. He would not even be surprised if the mercury froze behind the glass. But to make matters worse and much more miserable, the caves were not even dry. Even with the freezing cold temperature, water still managed to leak from the high, rocky ceiling and off of ice cycles which gleamed down maliciously at the torch he was holding. All of this, of course, made Kisame unbearable company.

Kisame had made it no secret that he could not stand cold weather. He could tolerate it with enough fire and clothing to insulate the warmth from his own body, but this was plain ridiculous. Not even moving and walking as they were helped!

That was what he had said.

Over…and over….And over again.

Itachi did not want a new partner, as he and Kisame just happened to get along decently enough, but he was hard pressed not to slit the man's throat in order to shut him up.

Another bone chilling droplet of water dripped down on Itachi's nose. His eyes narrowed and he stopped walking completely. Finally, Kisame stopped ranting and gambling about his woes against cold. "What is it?" Kisame asked once he realized Itachi was showing no intentions of walking any further. Itachi did not respond. He simply stood there with the torch held up in his left hand, completely motionless. His posture along with the flickering of flames made for an eerie, and somewhat disturbing picture, but Kisame was used to the Uchiha's odd antics. He shrugged to himself and chose that moment to see if their surroundings had changed.

The stone walls were as visibly slick as the ground was, but plain and nothing of interest. They looked exactly the same as what he had seen at the entrance. The only aspect that could have been considered 'impressive' might have been the fact that this was possibly the single largest cavern Kisame ever set foot in. Plain as the walls, ground, and high ceilings were, the tunnels went on forever and holes dropped endlessly. That much was discovered after he had dropped a stone down one to listen for the sound of stone hitting stone. It never came, and both men were warned that they could easily fall to their deaths, and no one would find the body.

And the reason they were even in such a death trap?

Their leader and his hare-brained quest for a scroll that Kisame was beginning to believe did not even exist.

By sheer dumb luck, Tobi had stumbled across a lead that seemed promising.

"_Itachi-saaaaaan!" _

_Kisame rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder. Tobi, in that ridiculous orange mask, ran across the snow and waved his arms like a child would. Deidara's face was twisted up in both annoyance and exasperation. He was sure to start beating down on his partner soon._

"_Hey! What part of 'ninja' don't you get, un? Don't go yelling and waving your arms around like that you idiot, un!" Deidara bellowed. Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly. The same could be said to Deidara, but he was in no mood for a headache._

"_Itachi-san! Senpai and Tobi have good news!" He thrust a hand out once he reached them and opened it to show them a folded wad of paper. The paper was turning brown with age and the edges were frayed so badly that Kisame wondered when it would burst into bits of dust. _

_Itachi took it carefully and unfolded it to find that a map had been drawn. The ink had not faded like most would with age, and the writing was by a delicate hand. A woman, perhaps? But what made the map even remotely significant was what that writing claimed._

'_To find the Shinigami's Scroll, light the torch and read the walls within." A kanji for 'Death' was painted over the mountain that the writing covered. While the kanji was far from comforting, there was no denying the meaning._

"_What is this?" Itachi asked. Tobi brightened and stood straight._

"_A map, Itachi-san. Tobi found is buried deep in the snow on the battle field." _

_That came as no surprise. Deidara and Tobi has been sent back to the field where the Konoha ANBU had been slain. They were to search the bodies for anything of value or what little information they might have carried. The explosions had caused one avalanche after another, though, and the bodies had been buried deep. That did not stop Tobi from trying to dig them out, obviously._

"_It was in a box, so we figure the avalanches must have unearthed it from where ever it had been, un." Deidara added. _

So there they were, in the 'Death' cave, freezing _and _wet with no sign of writing on the walls or scrolls. Either they were in the wrong cave, or this was all one big wild goose chase. Kisame wanted to kill something very badly. Preferably a certain mask wearing moron and his blonde idiot partner.

"We can go no further." Itachi said, his low voice echoing off of the walls. The effect was just as disturbing as Itachi's still form. Kisame was sure he saw this in a nightmare once. He decided that was not a safe train of thought for his sanity, so he leaned over to see what Itachi was actually staring at and found that the map was opened in his other hand, red eyes scanning the page. As Itachi had said, they could go no further. They were, quite literally, on the 'X marks the spot' on the map and nothing to show for it. Kisame let out a string of curses then unlatched Samehada from his back so that he could beat it against the wall.

The noise, this whole mission, and Kisame was pushing Itachi closer and closer towards unleashing his dangerous anger. He folded the map carefully, then turned around so that he could glare at Kisame. Itachi was granted one glimpse of Kisame before a force rammed into his stomach. He exhaled sharply and was sent flying backwards. The attack snapped Kisame out of his tantrum so that he could see his partner blown back by something that neither could see.

As quickly as it had started, it was all over and Itachi landed roughly on the ground. In all of the commotion, the torch had been snuffed out, leaving both of them in darkness.

Kisame did not feel any other chakra around, or find any sign of an enemy ninja. He stood still and listened for any noise that might clue him in on the source of the very bizarre event that just occurred.

_Snap..._

"Itachi?" he called out.

_Snap…Snap…Snap…_

Itachi did not dare move yet. He had not been prepared for an attack, and the blow to his stomach left him winded. But not only that, he could not shake the feeling that he was being watched. "I am here." he answered. Carefully, he pressed his palms down against the ground in order to push himself up, then froze completely when he felt it shift.

_Creeeeee…..SNAP_

"Itachi?"

Kisame waited, but received no answer. A sense of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Minutes passed and he heard nothing more, not even the snapping noises. He tightened his grip on Samehada then rubbed it against the ground in front of him. When Samehada dipped down further than the rest of the ground, Kisame's eyes widened. A hole…

* * *

_**TBC...**_


	5. Chapter 5: The Jade Crane

Disclaimer: I had this funny image in my head of lawyers perusing FF.N, going "Disclaimed, disclaimed…OHHHH LOOK! Oh man! This one did not put a disclaimer! Hahahaha! D Call Masashi Kishimoto, boys! I sense a lawsuit!"

And then I realized I might be slightly insane. :) Anyway, I do not own Naruto, but I do own Kumo and the plot to SNJ.

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Jade Crane**

_Across from her was her own reflection in the vanity mirror. _

_"99...100!" she said cheerfully, and allowed the silken pink locks of her hair to drop back down her shoulders. Sakura placed the hairbrush down and looked at herself with a tentative smile at her lips. She was sure she was pretty. Her mother told her that all of the time and so had her father._

_She looked at his picture, which always was on the vanity table so that she could see him when she came to comb her hair and make herself look nice for Team 7's training every day._

_Haruno Matsuo was a handsome man, strong masculine features and vibrant blue eyes that always seemed to be laughing. It was the pink hair that set off this masculine image of a man. Though, his strands were a paler shade than her own and cut short. She did not remember very much about her father. He died when she was very small, but some memories remained. _

_"Where's my pretty girl?" he would call out when he came home from a mission._

_Sakura would run to him and find herself hoisted up into the air by strong arms. He was a big man, and could lift her up as if she were nothing more than a kitten. _

_"Throw me higher!" she would shout out, then squeal with laughter when he through her so high she felt like she was flying. _

_"Careful!" Momo called out with worry at seeing her daughter's tiny body go up a few stories into the air._

_One day, he never came home, and he never called her 'pretty girl' again._

* * *

A hole. The _great Uchiha prodigy_…fell through a hole in the ground.

Sakura could not believe this! She had been strung up like a puppet and tossed right to the one person she did not want to see, but now he might be dead because he fell into a _hole_. Her mission in the afterlife was going to be so short lived, she must have been the worst guardian in the history of guardians!

Why was she complaining, though? Didn't she _want_ Itachi dead so that she could be rid of him and just move on? Rest in peace somewhere? Nirvana? Heaven? Mars?

A part of her frowned darkly at her behavior. Itachi might be seriously hurt. She looked down at him, finding that she could see very well in the dark. His eyes were closed, not tightly, but loosely like a person in sleep. His hair was sticking to his forehead in one place where a trickle of blood was seeping from a deep gash. She inhaled sharply, then kneeled down to get a closer look. Luckily for Itachi, the gash did not touch on anything fatal or too serious but it was deep enough to need stitches at least, and in this cold, he was in even more danger.

"Uchiha! Wake up." she tested out speaking, wondering if he might actually be able to hear her. When his brow furrowed, she started a little.

"Nnn..." he moaned, then turned his head a few times before he eased his eyes open. She knew he would be able to see nothing in the dark, so the question of if he could see her or not would be unanswered. It would be forever unanswered if he died here.

Itachi shifted his arms so that his elbows were pressed back against the ground, allowing him to push himself up into a sitting position.

"Kisame." he called out, and used one arm to continue to prop himself up while he reached the other one out into the darkness to feel for something, anything that might give him a clue to his whereabouts. What he could not see, Sakura could see clearly.

The place they had fallen into was a perfectly circular room carved from the cavern walls. The floor dipped towards the central point where a smaller hole had been made, with a spiral groove carved at a point beneath a pillar rising nearly four feet from the ground and around the room until it ended in the hole. She watched with morbid fascination as the blood Itachi lost slowly made its way around the spiral until it was draining into the hole.

When she saw the torches that stood tall, she smiled. "If you had a fire, you would be able to see." she said, and walked away from him to get closer to one of the walls.

_FWOOSH!_

Screaming, Sakura spun around to locate the source of the noise. Itachi was perfectly still and then...The hand seals...

She realized what he was doing and stared, wide eyed, as he blew a huge ball of fire from his mouth towards a torch and thus, lighting it. The moment of truth had arrived.

Could he see her?

Sakura froze in place and stared straight at him, her chin held high and her eyes holding a defiant gleam 'just in case'. For a moment, she could swear Itachi was looking right into her eyes from where he sat. He said nothing, though. Only the sound of the snapping fire cut through the silence.

"Well?" she asked and cringed at the tremor in her voice. He continued to stare, then narrowed her eyes, causing the pink-haired girl to tremble. "I didn't want to be here, Uchiha. This is just something beyond our control and..."

She trailed off when he stood up, his eyes still on her form. Sakura quaked again, and nearly screamed until he simply passed right through her. Confused now, she turned around to see that he was actually looking at.

Sakura's was in awe, to say the least. Above each torch, large animals had been painted with a dark material. Each beast, a koi, crane, tiger and viper posed majestically and almost seemed to come to life with the flickering shadows from the torches.

How had she missed this? With relief, she understood that Itachi had not been looking at her at all. He was staring at the wall paintings.

Itachi stepped from the center of the room and closer to the pillar situated in between the crane and the tiger's torches. Sakura wondered how he could be so calm about falling into a pit that had no 'door' except for what was above them, with a bleeding gash on the side of his head...Then again, he probably had experienced much worse and that gash was the equivalent of a mosquito bite.

"What are you looking at?" Sakura asked, mostly for her benefit as she walked closer to his side. He might not be able to hear her, but if she could pretend, she would feel a whole lot better.

What Itachi was looking at turned out to be writing on the smoothed, flattened top of the pillar. Curious, she leaned in closer to read.

**"My unfortunate friend, if you have found yourself here then I extend my deepest apologies and this plea: Finish what I did not have the strength to do. The Four remain separated and protected with my jutsu so that those who would bring the Abomination could not See what hides beneath the surface. **

**If you, stranger, choose to take my burden upon your shoulders may the heavens give their protection.**

**Bring the Four together.**

**DESTROY THE ABOMINATION!"**

Itachi frowned at the bizarre message. The scent of very old blood wafted to his nose ominously. He scraped his finger across the initials, smearing them before Sakura could read, then brought the sooty residue up to his nose.

"Blood…" he murmured.

Sakura shivered and backed away. Did one man really do all of this alone? She looked at the paintings once again and they did not look as majestic as before. Instead, they were grotesque and demonic. These were painted in his own blood just like that message and the spiral groove...What did he make that with?

Bone?

The dull, grating noise of stone grinding against stone echoed in the chamber, drawing Sakura's attention back on the other occupant. To her surprise, he shoved it down until it crumbled on the ground.

"What are you doing now?!" she snapped, her disgust and fear turning into anger. Anger felt much better than fear.

He kneeled down and sifted through the crushed, shattered stone until a lacquered box was in his hands. After cracking the lock with the tip of a senbon, piles of folded papers were revealed to them.

"Itachi! Are you down there?"

Both Itachi and Sakura looked up. The light caught Kisame's eyes, making them glow strangely. Soon after, Deidara's and Tobi's head popped up along side the hole along with Zetsu.

* * *

_**The Jade Crane Tea House**_

_Rain Country - One week later_

The four Akatsuki looked upon the tea house. The structure was delicate and proud, speaking of a long heritage and immense wealth. Common sense would say that the owners had this in their family for many generations and prospered, being a place that drew in high profile clientele. The letters found in the box, however, dictated that the tea house was something much more. Tobi and Kisame remained clad in the black Akatsuki cloak, formidable white-lined red clouds hanging in the heavy rain and conical hats topping their heads. With Tobi's refusal to remove his mask and Kisame's distinct features, the task of going in was left to Deidara and Itachi who appeared normal. The fact that they were handsome did not helped matters considerably, but neither man chose to acknowledge it when Kisame chortled this 'revelation'.

Grudgingly, Sakura agreed, but how could she not? No woman could look at the two and not have less-than-pure thoughts.

The comedic scene of Deidara being forced to brush his hair down and back from his face still played in Sakura's head and would forever live in infamy.

_There were four, thick folded papers in the box, each sealed with a red wax. One unsealed paper specifically gave an order in which to open the seals or the Shinigami Scroll would not be found. Sakura was personally impressed, though wary of Itachi's lucky find. She was not alone in such feelings as the five Akatsuki sat around a table to examine the contents. _

_Itachi cracked the first seal, expecting to find a letter. Instead, an ink painting covered the yellowed page. _

_"Isn't that the Jade Crane, un?" Deidara asked. Kisame looked at the blonde and arched a brow. With four pairs of eyes and Sakura's unseen presence, (assuming four, considering no one knew if Tobi was actually looking at him) Deidara grew agitated and crossed his arms with a flustered glare on his face. "What, un?!"_

_Kisame smirked and gave a casual shrug. "What's the Jade Crane? Please, by all means, tell us."_

_Deidara narrowed his eyes. He could sense that he was being teased, but nothing directly insulting had been said yet. Kisame possessed that kind of gift, and nothing irked the blonde more than indirect insults. He felt that those were doubly insulting, because his intelligence was insulted as well as himself._

_"It's a tea house, un." came his reply in a low, dangerous voice that dared Kisame to make any remark on it. Despite herself, Sakura grinned at the interaction. Being dead and out of the picture allowed her to look upon this scene without too much bias and really, it was pretty funny. _

_Itachi's expression relaxed from the vague frown. He recognized it now. "The Jade Crane is a high class establishment." he added on. They all knew what that meant. Since they would not be able to sneak in, they would have to go incognito. Deidara groaned, but his displeasure was ignored. _

_Zetsu finally left, claiming to report their findings to their leader and have this part of the mission funded and supplied. _

_Two days later, the clothes arrived. _

_Sakura was delighted by the yukata and haori. The silks were finely made and heavy. Even more so, she was pleased by the idea of seeing attractive men dressed up in those nice clothes. (Sure, she hated them from the bottom of her heart, but eye candy was eye candy! Ino would understand.)_

_"Eh? Why do I have to wear this getup, hmm?" Deidara snapped. Itachi glared at him mildly. _

_"Are you a shinobi or not?" he asked, thin eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly. The implications were enough to knock Deidara out of the tantrum he was about to throw._

_Deidara mumbled something under his breath then gave up and pulled on the silks, fully unaware of Sakura's lecherous eyes. _

_It was not until Itachi who, much to Sakura's disappointment dressed in a different room, walked out with a hair brush that the delicious situation grew to hilarity. Deidara fumbled with the hakama, obviously having never worn such fineries, eyed the piece in Itachi's hand with suspicion._

_"What do you have that for, un?" he asked. Itachi stared at him without saying a word, then slowly approached. _

_"Take your top knot down." _

_Deidara refused vehemently, mostly because Itachi was the one to tell him to do it. With the blink of an eye, Itachi had Deidara pinned to the ground and working his hair until it was smooth and finely brushed. As Itachi tied it back properly so that both of Deidara's eyes would have been for the world to see, the younger man screamed out every obscene word in the book._

_To say that Sakura had naughty thoughts at this view would have been a great understatement._

Now both stood Itachi in black and red, Deidara in dark blue and gray. The conical hats protected the from the softly falling rain from a dismally gray sky. Deidara was unaware of the lecherous eyes on him while the girl replayed his torture in her mind, but Itachi felt distinctly uncomfortable. Women had undressed him with their eyes before, and he studiously ignored the, but he saw no woman or man around to do so. He wondered about this 'watched' feeling lately but now was not the time to dwell on it too much.

When they walked in, they were immediately greeted by the owner, an elderly woman in an elaborate green kimono with the jade cranes. Her gray hair was tied back properly.

"Honored guests, welcome to the Jade Crane." she said demurely. Itachi bowed in return, but Deidara stared at her as if she were some strange alien species. Itachi remained bowing, but rolled his eyes when he saw the blonde standing dumbly next to him. Not so far away, pretty young girls stood near a partially opened door and giggled behind their sleeves at the sight of the handsome, elegant man and the funny blonde. "Bow." Itachi said through the corner of his mouth as low as he could so that the woman would not hear him. Deidara huffed silently then bowed awkwardly.

An exchange proceeded where Itachi and Deidara exchanged their false names, names stolen from prestigious men. The money they presented backed up their claim along with facts that they had been given.

Had Sakura not known that this was a mission of sorts, she might have fallen asleep. This was the single most boring thing she had experienced so far.

Didn't the Akatsuki live wild and dangerously?

She walked behind them once they were lead down past the shoji doors of different tea rooms until they were seated in the best one at the far end of the hall so that they could look over the murky green waters outside of the ornate black windows. Itachi was seated with his back to the Tokonoma as the most honored of the guests...But behind him...Behind him was the hanging scroll. Sakura's lips parted to emit a gasp of surprise. The rice paper had been painted to a perfection, with a soft yellow sun setting behind emerald mountains and pale green clouds. A single jade crane flew over teal waters, the wings stretched out and gold lining its feathers. Sakura drifted past them to stand before it and press her fingertips near it. Sure, she could not directly touch it, but she could give herself the illusion. When she was as close as she could be without going through, she noticed something.

She could feel it.

Frowning, she pressed her hand against it fully and felt the smooth texture. Even more disturbing, she could sense something flowing off of it in waves.

She turned away from the scroll when a dainty young girl stepped into the room from the doors at the opposite side of the scroll. The severe woman stood beside her while she bowed. "This is my own daughter, Fuyumi Mariko." she introduced. Itachi bowed in return, much to Deidara's annoyance. He openly sneered then bowed.

The song and dance of manners was brought to an end when they were all seated. Sakura, wanting to feel included, sat next to Itachi.

Deidara ignored the woman pouring their tea. He shifted every now and then, anxious to be blowing something up. These quiet, fancy places simply were not his style. Itachi was the picture of an aristocrat though. He spoke with the young girl that had been left to care for them by Fuyumi Kiku in hushed tones as he sipped the steaming tea. He was leading the conversation towards the special piece of art behind him.

At this, Deidara rolled his eyes towards it. He did not deny the beauty. That scroll held life and the crane looked as if it would burst from its stationary confines at any minute. If only he had his clay! He would be making a perfect imitation of the magnificent creature he was gawking at.

"I could not help but notice the scroll as I walked in, Fuyumi-san." Itachi said, drawing both Deidara and Sakura out of their artistic reverie. Deidara picked up his tea cup and took a sip, then grimaced at the taste.

The young girl's doe-eyes shifted towards the scroll hanging in the Tokonoma then back down to the tea pot. Talking about what was displayed in a Tokonoma was frowned upon as being rude and immodest. If her mother got word of it, she would be scolded badly. So, she remained quiet.

Sakura saw Deidara twitch again and Itachi's eyes take on that sinister gleam that most did not recognize. Being more in tune with him, she knew the girl was in danger.

"Be nice to her!" she hissed to him. "Why not say something nice? Geeze, you men don't know how to treat women at all!" Sakura knew he could not hear her, but that did not stop her from snapping in his ears.

To her surprise, Itachi's eyes returned to the dull gleam from before.

"Surely you do not mind sharing with weary travelers, hm?" he asked, but leaned foreword a little, his voice almost a purr. The moment he took a lock of the girl's hair into his fingers to feel the silky texture, Deidara stopped fidgeting and looked at Itachi as if he grew another head. Sakura's jaw dropped and the girl blushed deeply.

Did Itachi just...? No way! He totally did! Sakura gaped at him openly.

It worked like a charm, though.

"That is the Jade Crane." she said softly. "It has been in this tea house for many generations. and is the namesake as well."

Itachi 'mm'ed and nodded, the strands twirling along his fingers. Encouraged, she spoke on.

"The Fuyumi family believed that the jade crane brought luck to the tea house. There have been many floods and horrible storms but the tea house always remained untouched."

She leaned in to whisper, having become happy that there were willing listeners. Itachi leaned in for appearances, but Deidara was genuinely interested in what the girl was about to say.

He would never admit it to anyone, but he always liked a good story or legend.

"But a visitor once told me a different story. He said that the crane was not a spirit but a demon! The tea house was built on these grounds to seal it away and that the gods keep the tea house protected so that the crane is never released."

Deidara arched a brow. A demon crane? Cranes looked about as demonic as a butterfly.

Sakura, however, tensed. She watched Itachi turn the information over in his head then looked back at the scroll.

That thrum of latent power...Could it be true?

Kumo alone was enough evidence that powerful spirits roamed, and Naruto was proof that those spirits or demons could be sealed away, but for some reason she never thought she would hear of it in any other place.

How foolish she had been!

"A visitor?" Itachi asked, his stroking of her hair pausing abruptly and his gaze growing sharp. Mariko stared at him curiously, then nodded.

"Hai. He was a special man like you, Hiroshi-sama." she said to Itachi, smiling. "With the strangest pink hair…I can not remember his name, though. That was fourteen years ago and I was only seven years."

Sakura's brain came to a screeching halt. She felt what was similar to a clenching heart and missed it when Itachi and Deidara's eyes met, then both nodded. They had what they came for. The girl smiled at them both now, completely innocent of the information she just fed to two Akatsuki.

_"Where's my pretty girl?"_

_"Outou-san is not coming back, Sakura-chan…I'm sorry."_

Sakura frowned at the sudden memories that had attacked her at Mariko's simply claim. Eager for more, she looked back at them, only to be horrified at what she was witnessing. "No! Don't do it!" Sakura begged when she saw Itachi lean closer to the girl. His Sharingan eyes resembled that of a predator and the girl had no warning at all. In fact, rather than run away screaming like she should have, she became entranced by the deadly beauty of the crimson eyes. For a moment, Itachi looked as if he might even kiss her, but Sakura recognized the tell tale signs that the girl was trapped in the dangerous world Itachi could create.

Deidara looked away, his lips twisting in an unpleasant way with bitterness filling his eyes.

In no time, the girl was dead. Itachi gently laid her onto her side.

Sakura was furious. Had she not frozen up like that, she might have stopped him! Something, or anything, she did not care that she was dead! She would have stepped right through the barrier of life and death to kick Itachi right in the face for even thinking about killing an innocent like Fuyumi Mariko! She stood up and glared down at the man. He did not have to kill her! He did not!

"Why did you do that?!" she shouted at him. "You could have let her go! No one would have known that she told you anything!"

She began an assault on him, punching and kicking her limbs through his body but Itachi crossed the space between the table and the Tokonoma, completely unaware. She attempted another punch, but finally gave in when he stared at the scroll intently.

"Why...?" she whispered a little more sadly than angered.

The next piece to the puzzle had been gathered, but at what price?

Sakura, tears of anger budding at the corners of her eyes, looked back at the jade tea house. The majesty it possessed seemed to have diminished. It was just a simple place now.

Or at least it was until it exploded into tiny timbers. Next to her, Deidara sighed in relief then smiled.

No, the demon trapped within it and the demon that assured its protection was taken away. She looked at Itachi and the fresh feelings of hate and disgust heated.

He had serious protection on him for a marked man. He had the Jade Crane, the Sharingan, the Akatsuki...

...And he had her.

* * *

**A/N:** Ehhh! This was a tricky, tricky chapter to do! But thanks to Nolable's help and patience with my constant ranting while I did this, it is here. Your awesome reviews have also been very encouraging.


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